David Thewlis has signed on to star opposite Olivia Colman in “Landscapers,” HBO’s four-episode limited series from Sky Studios about a seemingly ordinary couple who become the focus of an investigation when dead bodies turn up in their yard.
Will Sharpe, who worked with Colman in the offbeat 2016 British comedy series “Flowers,” has signed on to direct all four episodes. The series hails from the Sister production banner and first-time TV series creator Ed Sinclair. Jane Featherstone, Chris Fry, Colman and Sinclair are executive producers for Featherstone’s Sister banner and Colman’s South of the River Pictures. Production is under way in the U.K.
Thewlis is known for his role as werewolf Remus Lupin in the “Harry Potter” film franchise. He also played Ares in 2017’s “Justice League.” Other recent credits include the 2017 edition of FX’s “Fargo,” National Geographic’s “Barkskins” and last year’s Charlie Kaufman thriller “I’m Thinking of Ending Things.” He’ll also be seen in the two upcoming “Avatar” sequels.
“This is without doubt the very finest project I have worked on for many years,” Thewlis said. “Everything about ‘Landscapers’ is magical, there is nothing like it and I’m impatient to get to work so that its brilliance can be shared with the rest of the world.”
The series is billed as “a darkly funny exploration of love and fantasy.” Colman’s character is obsessed with vintage movies and Westerns, which means that she and Thewlis’ character “cast themselves as Hollywood heroes in narratives of their own invention,” per HBO.
Also joining the ensemble cast are Kate O’Flynn, Dipo Ola as Samuel Anderson, Karl Johnson, Felicity Montagu and Daniel Rigby.
(Pictured: David Thewlis, Olivia Colman)
